Johnny Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Make a hole in the center of the Indian meal in a pan.
Pour in the warm water and salt.
Mix with a spoon gradually, stirring hard for 15 minutes until light and spongy.
Spread the mixture on a board or a pan.
Bake and serve
Place the board nearly upright before the fire and bake well.
Cut into squares and serve hot with butter or molasses.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Indian meal
- Forms the body of the cake, setting into a firm, crumbly structure as it bakes.
- Warm water
- Hydrates the cornmeal so it can be stirred into a spongy batter.
The step that matters
Stirring the mixture for 15 minutes. Stirring hard for the full time works air into the batter, which gives the light, spongy texture. Stopping early leaves a dense cake.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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